


It's Not Okay

by supremethunder



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 07:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16300592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supremethunder/pseuds/supremethunder
Summary: As a woman, experiencing sexual harassment in public is such a common occurrence it's considered as 'part of growing up'. It's not okay to accept as a part of growing up.[Peter Parker/Reader]Inspired by #ISayItsNotOkay Campaign





	It's Not Okay

**Author's Note:**

> The reader in this story is a black woman, but I do NOT describe her skin color so I don't ostracize anyone else who reads this who isn't.

_Keep your head down and look at your phone. Don’t look up. ___

__The words echoed in (Name)’s mind as if the phrase was a mantra. It was the only thing she could tell herself to do as she felt the gaze of a man sitting just a few feet away from her on the bus. The same man who would shoot her obscene gestures for the past week when nobody was looking or wink in her direction if she dared looked up at him. She visibly bristled each time their eyes met when she got on the bus to school before rushing to take a seat furthest away from the front. Even when (Name) warned her mother about the encounters she occasionally experienced on the bus ride to and from school she was simply told to ignore him and not give the pervert the satisfaction. After all, it was just one of the many macroaggressions women had to experience and live with every day. And it made her sick to her stomach just thinking about it._ _

__I wish I didn’t have to just grin and bear it and pretend it doesn’t bother me. (Name)’s eyes well up with tears of frustration and anger._ _

__She dug her fingers into her palm and shook her head. She refused to let this man get the best of her and make her cry. For now._ _

__“Thank God…” (Name) muttered upon seeing the bus start to drive towards her school. She quickly signaled the bus to stop before she hauled her backpack over her shoulder and rushed off the bus and onto the school campus._ _

__(Name)’s shoulders visibly relaxed once she got inside the school building and into the girls’ restroom. After checking the stalls to ensure they were empty, she allowed the waterworks she had held back begin to flow._ _

____

[-]

_Why did that robber have to pick today of all days to rob a bank? I’m gonna be late._ Peter sighed in frustration as he made a beeline for the main entrance of his school.

As Spider-Man, Peter didn’t mind taking care of the local crime in his neighborhood. But most recently it was starting to affect his ability to make it on time for school. His Aunt May was pretty understanding, but he knew at some point she’d stop accepting his excuse of the subways running late. Upon reaching the entrance of the school, Peter went inside and grabbed his books for class from his locker. Even though his concern had been to get to class on time, he couldn’t help but notice one of his female classmates stepping out of the bathroom, rubbing her eyes looking distraught.

As much as he wanted to make it to class on time, Peter felt as if he couldn’t just ignore her, even if it wasn’t his business.

“Hey, are you okay?” Peter asked as he approached (Name).

“What?” (Name) looked to her left to see her classmate from first period, Peter Parker approaching her. “Yeah, I’m cool.”

“Are you sure? I’m not trying to be nosy or anything, but if you want to talk about it—”(Name) cut Peter off midsentence.

“No!” (Name) shouted, causing Peter to flinch. “Sorry, I mean. No thanks. I’m okay. It’s okay…”

“O-Okay, sorry to bother you. Forget I said anything.” Peter held up his hands in a surrendering fashion.

(Name) watched as Peter turned around and head for the classroom. Before she could stop herself, she found herself calling after him.

“Hey, wait!” (Name) said.

Peter looked over his shoulder to look in her direction.

“If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone?” (Name) said in a hushed voice.

“Yeah, of course.” Peter nodded his head.

“Meet me outside the school after class.”

[-]

For the rest of the school day, all Peter could think about was what this secret his classmate was keeping. All he knew for sure was, it had to have been a pretty big deal to make her cry and look so upset. He had hoped whatever it was she was going through that he could help in some way. Even if it meant just lending an ear. As the final bell rang to signal the end of the school day, Peter abruptly stood up from his seat and hurriedly packed up his school belongings.

“What’s the rush, Peter?” Ned asked.

“Oh, I uh…” Peter trailed off as he thought of his next choice of words carefully. “I’m meeting with someone after school.”

“Is it a giiirl?” Ned asked teasingly.

“Pfft, now that can’t be right.” Another male voice joined the conversation. “Penis Parker meeting with a girl after school?”

“It could happen, Flash.” Ned defended.

“Sure, and next thing you’re gonna tell me is that he’s actually best friends with Spider-Man and the rest of the Avengers.” Flash said with a roll of his eyes.

“But he—“

“You’re right, Flash. That could never happen.” Peter interrupted Ned. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow, Ned. Don’t wait up.”

Peter slung his backpack over his shoulder as he headed out the classroom and to the front of the school to meet (Name). When he saw her standing in front of the school, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised to find her waiting there before he arrived. When (Name) spotted him, he noticed a sign of relief wash over her face.

“Thanks for meeting me.” (Name) said. “Peter, right?”

“Yeah, and you’re uh…” Peter trailed off awkwardly.

“It’s (Name).” (Name) said with a small chuckle.

“Right, sorry.” Peter smiled sheepishly.

“It’s okay. It’s not like we’re friends or anything, so I appreciate you coming out here anyway.” (Name) shrugged her shoulders.

“So, what did you want to tell me?”

“Well, aren’t you straight to the point?”

“I’m sorry, was that too forward of me to ask?” Peter rubbed the back of his head.

“No, it’s fine. I said I’d tell you after school if you promised not to tell anyone.” 

“I promise I won’t. You can tell me.”

(Name) went quiet for a moment before she took a deep breath and let out a shaky sigh as she proceeded to explain what she’d experiencing on the bus ride to school for the past week. Peter’s face expressed a variety of emotions. From pity, to disgust and finally anger. He felt pity that (Name) had to go through such a horrible experience for so long, and disgust and anger towards the man who made her feel uncomfortable and treated her like she was nothing more than a piece of meat.

“Wow, that’s…that’s just awful, (Name).” Peter said, at a loss for words.

“It is…” (Name) nodded sadly.

“Have you told anyone else about this?”

“I told my mom, but she just told me to ignore it and not give the guy the satisfaction or attention he deserves. But it doesn’t stop him from doing it and everyone else on the bus either doesn’t notice what he’s doing or doesn’t care enough to speak up. It’s frustrating and I don’t know what to do. But I guess I have to learn to accept that’s just how it is being a girl nowadays.”

“You shouldn’t have to though. It’s not fair to you and it’s not right.”

“No, it’s not right. But it’s okay, Peter. I appreciate you listening to what I have to say.”

Peter shook his head, a newfound determination in his eyes. Peter knew he had to try and help (Name), even if they weren’t friends and simply shared a few classes together.

“You know what? It’s not okay. You shouldn’t have to put up with that.” Peter said.

“I know, but there’s not much I can really do.” (Name) sighed.

“Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?”

“Is that guy supposed to be on your bus ride home today?”

“Probably, why?” (Name) raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“I’ve got an idea.” Peter smiled.

[-]

“You sure this will work, Peter?” (Name) asked as they stood together in front of the bus stop.

“We won’t know until we try. Just follow my lead when we get on the bus together.”

“If you say so.”

As if on cue, the bus arrived and stopped right in front of them before the folding doors of the bus opened. Peter and (Name) climbed aboard the bus and paid their bus fare before they found seats in the back.

“So which one is it?” Peter whispered to (Name).

(Name)’s eyes carefully scanned over the rest of the passengers on board before they landed on her culprit, a Caucasian man with brown hair who appeared to be in his late thirties with a receding hairline wearing a striped blue and white shirt. She felt her blood run cold when their eyes met and he shot her a sickly-sweet smile and licked his lips.

“The guy in the striped t-shirt.” (Name) whispered back.

Peter frowned upon spotting the man in the striped t-shirt before he slowly put his arm around her. (Name) couldn’t help but feel her face start to heat up from the proximity of having Peter so close. Sure, they were just classmates, but he wasn’t half bad to look at as well as considerate for being so determined to help her.

 _He smells pretty nice too…_ (Name) closed her eyes buried her face against Peter’s shoulder, allowing her body to succumb to Peter’s warmth. For a moment, she had forgotten it was all pretend until his voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“I think it’s working.” Peter said in a low voice. “He’s getting off the bus.”

“Wait, seriously?” 

“Yeah, look.”

(Name) sat up and opened her eyes to see the man get off the bus, but not before she watched Peter shoot him a dirty glare as the bus drove off to its next stop.

“Wow, he normally doesn’t get off the bus for a few more stops. Your plan worked better than I thought it would.” (Name) said with a small smile.

“Well, I can’t take all the credit. You fell asleep on me after all.” Peter replied, shooting a teasing smile back at her.

“What? Stop playin’. I did not.”

“Pretty sure you did. We’ve been on the bus for about twenty minutes.”

(Name) pulled out her phone from her back pocket only to see that Peter was telling the truth.

 _Dammit…_ (Name) was grateful that Peter wouldn’t notice the heat rising to her cheeks.

“Oh whatever!” (Name) huffed, putting her phone away. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. I was just tired and I got comfortable. Besides, this was your idea.”

Peter laughed, unable to wipe the smile off his face watching (Name) struggle to come up with an excuse.

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t mind that you fell asleep on me. It was kind of cute.” Peter confessed with a shy smile.

“Well… I appreciate you helping me out today, Peter. Hopefully that’ll be the last I see of that guy.”

“If it’s not, just let me know, okay? I can ride the bus again with you again… if you want that is.” Peter offered.

“Sure, but you’d be okay with doing this again?”

“Yeah, what are friends for?”

“Friend, huh. It has a nice ring to it.” (Name) smiled softly. “Thanks again, Peter.”

“Glad I can help. What he was doing to you was not okay, but what is okay is for you to come to me if you need someone to ride the bus home with you to make sure you get home safe."


End file.
